Folk and village custom: magic in this belief world

Rural and household beliefs that belong to no single organised religion.

Folk and village custom is the large body of belief and practice that belongs to no organised religion: the charm against the evil eye, the cure for warts, the fairy hawthorn, the household spirit, the lucky day. It is passed within families and communities and exists in every society. This page looks at how it is kept, who keeps it, and why it is both valued and dismissed. It is also called popular religion, vernacular religion or lived religion by scholars.

Keepers and settings

Keepers are often older women, farmers, midwives, shepherds and craftsmen. Settings are the house, field, well, crossroads and church porch. European cunning folk offered help for fees and kept charms and books. In many Asian and African villages the specialist is a healer, a diviner or a spirit medium working beside religion. The same grandmother may light a candle at church, tie a thread on a child and say a charm for a burn, and see no conflict between them.

Names and labels

The same thing carries many names: the evil eye is the nazar, mal de ojo and ayin hara. Folklorists collected such customs from the nineteenth century, sometimes as relics of a vanished past and sometimes as living culture. The label folk also marks class, since the term often implies rural, poor or uneducated, a bias that modern scholars try to avoid. Where the village has a wise woman or a bone-setter, the community knows what to ask of her and what she will refuse to do.

Religion, state and reform

Churches, mosques and temples have absorbed, tolerated and condemned folk practice in turn. States have banned it as backward: Chinese campaigns against superstition in the twentieth century closed local temples and shrines, and Soviet policy targeted village healers. At times governments have turned to it as national heritage, as in revived festivals across Europe and Asia. Historians and folklorists note that it often keeps old customs alive within newer religions, such as lighting fires at midsummer within Christian saints' days.

Change and commerce

Urban life and migration thin out folk knowledge, while heritage projects and the internet gather it. Customs reappear as products, such as protective charms in shops and festival tourism. Some folk practice carries harm: village accusation of witchcraft, treatments that delay medical care, and fees charged to relieve fear. Illness needs real medical care. In places with active heritage movements, folk custom has become a source of pride, and young people record songs and cures from grandparents before they are lost.

Folk and village custom on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreBalaur A many-headed dragon from Romanian folklore that guards treasures and controls the weather.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇩 IndonesiaSundel bolong A vengeful ghost of Java, a woman whose long black hair hides the hole in her back.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKijo鬼女 A demon woman from Japanese folklore, born of resentment and karma.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreZmeu A humanoid dragon from Romanian folklore that kidnaps maidens and steals treasures.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary

🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreKulshedra A multi-headed serpent demon in Albanian folklore that controls storms and droughts.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomAm Fear Liath Mòr A mountain spirit said to haunt the misty peaks of the Scottish CairngormsBeing Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomBoobrie A shapeshifting loch monster from Scottish folklore that preys on livestock and horses.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreLes LavandièresKannerez-Noz Supernatural washerwomen who wash shrouds or bloodstained clothes for those about to die.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaShishigaшишига A female swamp spirit of Russian and Komi folklore that brings misfortune and death.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇷🇸 SerbiaCikavacцикавац A winged creature from Serbian folklore that fetches honey and milk for its ownerBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaZână A Romanian woodland spirit linked to Diana that guides travelers and blesses children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreShen蜃 A sea creature from Chinese mythology said to create mirages through shape-shiftingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSkogsrå A forest spirit in Swedish folklore who appears as a beautiful woman but hides a hollow back and animal feet.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí) A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreChimimōryō魑魅魍魎 A Chinese term for mountain and river spirits that spread to Japan and VietnamBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyAnguane Cloven-footed water nymphs from Northern Italian folklore who nurse infants with their backs.Being · Love and attraction · Healing Legendary 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreLikhoradkaЛихорадка A fever spirit in Slavic myth who brings illness and sicknessBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaCăpcăun A Romanian ogre with a dog head known for kidnapping children and eating peopleBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreHuoshu火鼠 A legendary fire-resistant rat from Chinese folklore said to yield self-cleaning cloth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenAskafroa A Scandinavian tree spirit believed to guard the ash and demand appeasement.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaNine-headed bird九頭鳥 A mythical creature from ancient China that became a symbol of deceit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalySquasc A small, tawny creature from Eastern Lombardy folklore that frightens children and plays jokes on young girlsBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKinoko木の子 A mountain spirit in Japan that looks like a small child and plays tricks on workers.Being Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreKakuen玃猿 (Jué yuán) A legendary ape-like creature from Chinese and Japanese folklore known for abducting humans.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇹🇼 TaiwanMo-sin-a魔神仔 A short, furry forest demon from Taiwanese folklore said to lure travelers into the mountains.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDokkaebi도깨비 A one-legged supernatural being from Korean folklore, often linked to household objects and magical items.Being · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreSupernatural beings in Slavic religion Mythic entities of nature, death, and fate in Slavic folklore and belief.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesWoman in Black A spectral figure from Appalachian folklore said to punish men for moral failingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaLuduan甪端 A mythical Chinese creature said to speak every language and travel vast distances in a single dayBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanYama-uba山姥 A Japanese mountain spirit depicted as either a cannibalistic monster or a benevolent guardian.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaBramrachokh A demon in Kashmiri myth that mimics a light to lead travellers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanTsuchinokoツチノコ A snake-like cryptid from Japanese folklore said to roll like a wheelBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇩 IndonesiaBabi ngepet A Javanese myth about a person who turns into a boar to steal wealthBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇪🇸 SpainGuajona A blood-sucking hag from Cantabrian and Asturian legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇸🇪 SwedenSjörå A Swedish lake spirit that rewards kindness and drowns the disrespectfulBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇷🇸 SerbiaBaukБаук A bear-like creature from Serbian folklore that lurks in the dark.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreAufhocker A German folklore spirit that leaps on travelers and weighs them down.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDames Blanches Spectral women in French folklore who demand dances or warn of dangerBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇧🇷 BrazilLobisomem A South American shape-shifter born from family fate or sin, often linked to the full moon.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇱 AlbaniaXhindi Invisible spirits in Albanian mythology that appear at night and may help or harm.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanSankai産怪 A yōkai born from a woman during childbirth if proper care is neglectedBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanyWitte Wiwer Subterranean spirits of Low German folklore known for music and child exchangeBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 2 moreMama D'Leau A river spirit of the Caribbean islands who protects aquatic life and heals people.Being · Healing · Protection Legendary 🇵🇭 PhilippinesMandurugo A shapeshifting spirit from Philippine folklore that feeds on human bloodBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandSleih beggey Manx fairies and little people of the Isle of ManBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaMeduzaМедуза A Russian mythic figure with a woman's head and a serpent body, linked to trickery.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Boobrie: Ole Worm - Olaus Wormius, Public domain, source
Supernatural beings in Slavic religion: Bartolomeo Giuliano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
Kulshedra: Bidgee, CC BY 3.0, source
Skogsrå: Gunnar Creutz (Achird), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
Nine-headed bird: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Luduan: Gisling, CC BY 2.5, source
Yama-uba: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Babi ngepet: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Guajona: Francisco Goya / Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Aufhocker: Longbow4u, Public domain, source
Am Fear Liath Mòr: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Anguane: Elena Alexandrina Bednarik, Public domain, source
Les Lavandières: Jean-Édouard Dargent, Public domain, source